Steering apparatus for boats and the like.



S. E. LEONARD. STEERING APPARATUS FOR BOATS AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED HAY 11 1908. Patented Dec 22 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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n I w I m. C h H 1. .H a m INVENTOR I #11 al u/zlau ATTE-ST fiw maw ATTYSLE. LEONARD. STEERING APPARATUS FOR BOATSAND THE LIKE. APPLICATION rum;MAY 11, 190a.

907,252. Patented Dec. 22, 1908.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

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v w m m E 5 H I O II I' ll 5 PM o o Al nssr v INVENTOR, f Magma! mxlwmBY ATTYS- useful Improvements in Steering for*Boats andthe' Like, and dodec 1 'Beitlmown that I;;'S AM" L LEONARD, a citizfe1i of*-the UnitedStates, residing at Cleveland, the -county of Cuyahoga and State-ofOhio, have 'inventedcertain new and A paratus l are that the followingis a full, "clear," and exact description of the invention, which willenable others skilled the aftfto which it' appertains tomake and usethesame.

- invention relates to steering ap aratus for boats and the like, andthe invention consists i'n an'apparatus wherein both water and steamressu're from the same pressure source are ut' ized for ower to controlthe steering mechanism, as ereinaft'er'fully described.

Inithe accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan'view of theapparatus,and Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof, partly in section. Fig.

3is a'vertical longitudinal sectional elevation of the apparatus, andFig. 4 is a cross section substantiallyion the line of the transverseshafts at the middle. Fig. 5 is a reduced view of the .parts, showing amarine boiler in connectiontherew'ith. s r a The novelty herein liesprimarily in the idea of utilizing both water and steam pressure'fromthe same boiler or source of pressure, soas to have equilibrium in thepres-- sure itself, with differential cylinders and istons, andtransmitting mechanism there'- rom aswill be now described. 5 Thus, theapparatus comprises a main or central casing C of approximately boxshape, or its equivalent, and a steam cylinder 2 open thereto at one endand awater c linder 3 open thereto at the other end, "an which arebolted at their inner ends to said box or cas' The 'saidcylindersaredifferentialor ifferent sues in cross section, the steam cylinder .be-

ingof'approximately twice thesize of thewater cylinder 3" in crosssectional area. and, as I repneseiitedalsobytheworking areas of theirresp 5 are attached, as now' well known."

Said is in"ope'ratin'g "connection with ti h l ie' nsfiiii f m an"btherwis e uahie some, the steam; piston ,prevail and was-[endi gs wereadppmW-et 6 "t e ls'tr n ii h nl sfltll h wh sl o "awaits kits a rudder;not shown,

However',fl do Show cablesfor'ropes 6, which sl s g dabmi rr nd-n tindnel fli and with which the steering gears or p'a'rts month, or.CLEVELAND, onlocation of Letteral atent. amp uuaonman n, 1908. 8815811).592,121.

exhaust pipe 22.

ctive P1 and P, ,so, that in "any" 5 [I nmms ma which rigidly'connects'sai pistons and conveys power therefrom to segmental gearG on.

transverse shaft S. This gear is, in mesh l with the teeth 7 on saidrack-bar.

Thus the said winding drum D is brought into direct o cratingconnectionswith said pistons and t e action on cables 6 is' positive.Then as a means of hand control anothergear, G, is mounted on this shaftat the side of drum D and integral therewith in this instance, butsmaller in size than gear G, as shown herein. This gear meshes withpinionS on another shaft, S, mounted in'oron the top of sup .raeehtednecrze, loos.

the pistons]? and F" throu the rack-bar, A v

porting-frame F. This latter shaft has a and wheel W for controlling theapparatus when hand control is desirable, and a double,

ended clutch sleeve 10 is fixed on shaft S while the shaft itself is,slidable axially within limits so as to engage said clutch either withpinion 8, or rotatable sleeve 12'both of which parts are constructedwith clutching teeth. Said'sleeve 12 is mounted in the top of frame Fand has the shaft S passing through'the same, affording a bearing forsaid shaft as well as serving to make operating connections from thesaid shaft with the valve mechanism beneath. For example, there are twovalves 14 and 15, mounted on a valve stem or rod 16 and controlling theinlets and outlets to and from cylinders 2 and 3. So there also are twovalve boxes or chambers, 17 and 18, respectively, for said valves 14 and15, and the operation of valve stem 16 actuates both valvessimultaneously and equally and opens and closes the same for allpassages. Valve box 17 has inlet pipe 20 which runs to live steam inboiler E, and

thence by box 17 andpipe 21 into steam cylinder 2. The exhaust from saidcylinderis back through pipe-2land-box14 and out by linder 3 has a waterwith the'boiler, and the va ve boxlS is set therein and there is noexhaust on this line. On the contrary, ;the=.wate1; plays back and forthas between the: boiler or achamber or the like, in communication.therewith and cylinder 3, s ubject onlyto control ,valve 'pi connection23v 15. 'Ihatis if. steampressure'be. open to piston P the Water beforethe smallerpiston, be driven back into the boiler according o e m nt Sid p st n, fi To the other hand, if the valves be in such osition thatthere is exhaust froin cylin er 2:

the waterpressure on piston P will drive the parts in the oppositedirection and'cylinder 3 will receive supply under pressure from theboiler. Of course, as shown in 2, the valves and passages are closed andeveryj thing is stationary. In fact neither piston can move under theseconditions, and the steering rudder would be held definitely to a fixedposition, whatever that might be. '1 his would occur even if steam incylinder 2 were to condense more or less before a shift were madebecause the water in cylinder 3 would not permit such movement whenlooked as shown as a vacuum would be necessary to el'i'ect a movement,and such vacuum is physically impossible in this construction. I can,therefore, lock the steering parts at any time and in any desiredposition, and they must inevitably hold that position until purposelyreleased or changed.

Now, reverting to sleeve 12, it will be seen that connection is made bya link 24 between a flange thereon and a ring a on eccentric 25, splinedon the end of shaft S, and which ring is. connected by a link or rod 26with valve stem 16. Said ring is independently rotatable on theeccentric through sleeve 12 when wheel W is turned to open or set thevalves.

It is to be noticed, also, that segment gear G is splinedon shaft S,while drum D is free thereon, and the two are operatively connected by abolt or pin 19, through which the drum is engaged with said gear and thetwo rotate together. Now, when the parts are in position as seen in Fig.4, power is on as to all the parts and the hand controlling mechanism isthrown out. In this case the valves are controlled through shaft S andthe eccentric thereon operating ring a and link 26. But if hand control1s to be resumed, the clutch 10 is thrown into engagement with pinion 8,and pin 19 connecting gear 9 and drum D withdrawn. '1 his gives theoperator direct control of the drum through P1111011 8 and the valvesremain closed and the pistons locked and gear G and shaft Sdisconnected. This eliminates the ower control from the boiler for thetime eing and the operator works as if no power operation were providedfor. However he has free control at all times over the valvesindependently of the power, to open and close them at his will withoutinterfering with the automatic action upon the valves through the powermechanism.

It is of course understood that the amount of water used at any time incylinder 3 is relatively very small, so that in no case is it noticeablein the boiler nor such as to in any wise afiect the water supply for theboiler.

Now reverting again to the use of water and steam herein rather thansteam alone, it will be noticed that by these means I overcome the vitalobjection of steam condensation and the consequent movement or shiftingof the pistons where steam is used alone.

Experience has shown that all or only steam cannot be relied upon, butby the use of water-on-one iston I am enable' to waterlock and hold bothpistons regardless of steam condensation, and this constitutes animportant improvement in the art, as I understand the art at this time.

As shown, the cylinders are arranged end to end for horizontal placementon a vessel, but if greater economy ofroom or other circumstancesrequire dnferent disposition and relation of the arts, this can be donewithout departing om the spirit of the invention as embodied in thediiferential cylinders and pistons and their steam and water'connectlonswith the boiler.

What I claim is g 1. In steering apparatus for vessels, a pair ofdifferential cylinders, a steam boiler and water connections therefromto the smaller of said cylinders and steam connections to the larger,pistons in said cylinders and steer ing mechanism operatively connectedwith said pistons.

2.. A steering apparatus comprising two cylinders arranged end to endand of difierent sizes in cross' section, connected pistons in saidcylinders, a boiler and pipes connecting the said cylinders therewith,the pipe to the larger cylinder open to live steam in the boiler and thepipe to the smaller cylinder open to the water, and jointly operatedvalves for both pipes.

3. Steerin ap aratus for vessels comprising a pair 0 cy inders ofdiiferent sizes in cross section and connected pistons therein, incombination with a boiler andsteam and water pipe connectionsrespectively between said boiler and cylinders, separate valves for saidconnections, and means to o jerate said valves operatively connected witsaid pistons.

4. In steering a paratus for vessels, a pair of cylinders of di erentsizes in cross section, connected pistons 1n sald cylinders and valvecontrolled fluid passages to both cylinders,

mechanism controlled by said rack -bar.

adapted to operate the steering mechanism and control the flow of waterand steam.

6. In steering devices, cylinders arranged end to end and istons ofdifferential area therein, a bar rigidly connecting said pistons andsteering devices operatively connected therewith, in combination with aWater passage to one of said cylinders and a steam passage to the othercylinder, and means to jointly open and close said passages, comprisinga valve for each passage, a rotatable shaft and connections therefrom tosaid Valves and to the pistons in said cylinders.

\7. In steering apparatus the cylinders and the water and steam ressureconnections therewith, pistons in said cylinders and a'bar connectingthe same, in combination with a rotatable shaft and a' cable drumloosely mounted thereon, a gear fixed on said shaft and adapted to beengaged with said drum, a valve for eachsaid water and steamconnections, and operating connections between said valves and saidshaft.

8. In steering apparatus the differential cylinders and the connectedpistons therein, and valves to control the flow of fluid to saidcylinders, in combination with a rotatable shaft, a gear fixed to rotatetherewith, a cable drum loose on said shaft and means to connect anddisconnect said drum and gear, a stem uniting said valves, an eccentricon said shaft and link connection therefrom to said valve stem.

9. In steering apparatus the combination of the differential cylindersand the connected pistons therein, a shaft and a drum thereinoperatively engaged with said pistons, a

boiler and water and steam passages therefrom to said cylindersrespectively, and valves for said passages, a hand controlled shaftaxially movable and a clutch fixed thereon, and connected means engagedby said clutch and with said valves to open the valves'by hand power.

10. In steering apparatus the combination of the differential cylindersand pistons, a shaft and aneccentric on said shaft, valve mechanismoperatively engaged upon said eccentric, a drum on said shaft adapted tocarry the steering cables a rack bar connecting said pistons andoperatingconnections between said rack-bar and said drum.

11. In steering apparatus the differential cylinders and pistons and arotatable shaft operatively connected therewith, in combination withvalves to. control the entrances to said cylinders, in combination withan eccentric on said shaft and connections therefrom to said valve, ahand wheel and shaft and means engaged with said sliaft to operate saidvalves through the connections with said eccentric.

In testimony whereof I sign thisspec-ification in the presence of twowitnesses.

SAMUEL E. LEONARD. Witnesses E. M. FIsHER, F. O. MUSSUN.

